You Can Love Your Daughters Before They’re Born…Part 2

Apparently the technological ability to select our children by gender has a dark side that has cast its shadow over the United States.  According to the New York Times article of June 14 , 2009, headlined U.S. Births Hint at Bias for Boys in Some Asians, US census data suggests that Asian, Korean, and Indian communities in the United States have a “statistical variation” that is “significant” in its apparent evidence for a preference of male over female children (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/nyregion/15babies.html?_r=2&hp=&pagewanted=all).

It seems that the trend indicates a growing tendency for these families to “embrace sex-selection techniques, like in vitro fertilization and sperm sorting, or abortion.”  In short, the selective aborting of female babies that I previously wrote about (April 15, 2009) is not isolated to a country or a specific political system, but seems to be a part of a (portable) world-view of life that attributes greater worth to a person based on their gender alone.  The idea is horrid, but understandable in our current materialistic, “success” oriented culture.  In a land like our own, that tragically views children as commodities that are managed and arranged around the life goals of the parents, should we be shocked or incensed that newer citizens would take things a step further, and simply abort the babies that would not (in their estimation) further the goals and aspirations for success of the parents?  This isn’t a sci-fi novel issue, and it isn’t something that is isolated to totalitarian, atheistic cultures.  It’s here, just down the street from you, just over there.  It’s your neighbors and friends.  It’s their children.  If we’re thinking correctly about this issue, it’s actually OUR children.

Perhaps the most puzzling statement quoted in the article was by Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg of Fertility Institutes in California (which does not offer abortions), a clinic that advises couples in the options involved in sex-selection procedures.  “Culturally, there are a lot of strange things that go on in the world,” Dr. Steinberg said. “Whether we agree with it, it’s not harming anyone.”

Anyone, that is, except our daughters.

Literally speaking…

“Do you guys take the Bible literally?”

That is a question that I am sometimes asked about our church.   I give the answer (which is “Yes”) with hesitation, not because I doubt that a consistent literally interpretation of the Bible is the only meaningful, logical way to do it, but because I am rarely given the opportunity to truly understand what they mean by “literally,” and to clearly explain what I mean by the word.  One takes the Bible literally in the same way one takes a stop sign literally–there are no hidden messages in that red, octagon sign on the post–it simply means what it says, “Stop.”  But I also read the Lord of the Rings in a literal fashion, as high-quality fantasy-fiction, with many examples of bravery, cowardice, good, evil, hope, and despair (though all of these are fictional).  The Lord of the Rings is fiction–you can’t travel to Tom Bombadil’s for a chat, and then have lunch at the Prancing Pony.  You’d have to search for a long, long time to find those places…and if you did, you’d probably be able to buy a T-shirt and refrigerator magnet to commemorate your visit!  In the same way, I take the morning newspaper (here, The Oregonian) literally, too.  Its front page is usually objective, propositional truth (although the fact of daily retractions for prior issues leads me to take even the front page with a grain of salt!), I take the sports section pretty literally, especially the bare facts of numbers (scores, hits, runs, averages, etc.).  But the “living” section–now that part isn’t so propositional or objective, nor does it claim to be.  It’s where I find movies reviews, television programming guides, advice columns.  I read this section literally by knowing that it is not claiming to be the end-all truth for my life–it’s just trying to get me to go to a certain movie, or try a new recipe for garden tomatoes. 

Taking the Bible literally involves a reasoned approach similar to the above applications I’ve laid out.  It means assessing and valuing each particular type of literature in it that I am reading, and interpreting it accordingly.  Well, the whole reason I’ve written all this today is to refer you to another site if you are interested in reading and excellent piece of writing on how to interpret the Bible.  I am impressed with the ministry and writing of Dr. James Emery White, Senior Pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Please give this site a read, and let me know what you think!  http://www.serioustimes.com/

Blessings,

Ken